Abdul Mati Klarwein was a painter best known for his work used on the album cover art for Santana’s Abraxas, and for the album that defined fusion jazz, Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. Mati‘s work included drawing, painting, writing, playing drums and guitar, and directing short and medium films and videos.  Throughout the years, he worked, traveled and lived in many countries including Indonesia (Bali), he eventually settled in New York City in the early 1960s.  It follows that he spoke no less than six languages.

Klarwein was a “visionary”/surrealist painter who possessed an extremely high level of technical skill. In the second half of the twentieth century, the mainstream of the art world was focused mainly on abstract and conceptual art. Because Klarwein’s art happened to be on some album covers, and because he ignored the prevailing trends of modernism, Klarwein was considered by the art establishment to be “just” a commercial artist or “psychedelic” artist, and was as a result rejected and ignored.

Visit his website for more work & info about Klarwein.